Cavalry – A Little Rough [TMN PREMIERE]

As the work week comes to a close, so many of you out there are on the hunt for new tunes to carry you through your weekend adventures. Whether you’re hoping to find that rally cry to carry you into a night at the clubs, or the latest indie folk tunes to accompany a lazy night in, you’re all sharing this common thread. This is why Friday premieres are always my favorite, and today is no different.

Coming your way from Liverpool, England, Cavalry is comprised of Alan (Vocals), Austin (Guitar), Steven (Guitar), Paul (Bass), and Gareth (Drums). Over the past few years, they’ve been garnering critical acclaim from the likes radio hosts, publications, and tastemakers across the board. Their latest release, See the Night Perform, out on Fierce Panda (Coldplay / The Maccabees), will follow along with those previous emphatic nods of approval.

Originally, we had come on board to premiere “A Little Rough,” but things progressed into an added treat for everyone tuning in. Below, you’ll not only find a full stream of their debut EP, but an accompanying track-by-track guide directly from the band. Not a bad way to kick off your weekend, eh?

‘Heresy’ is really about dealing with modernity – the simple, everyday tribulations and the dystopia that’s hidden in plain sight. It’s a mortal cry for hope and sense in this troubling age we’re all in, but there’s definitely introspection as well.

Like a lot of our songs, we love creating an ambience and atmosphere, and finding startling ways to dispel and dismantle what we’ve created. But all in a way that retains a mainstream aesthetic. Heresy does the same – it’s dark and light in equal measure, but there’s a pop foundation underneath it all.

BLACK

If there’s a grand concept to the whole EP, it’s found in ‘Black’. The line ‘See The Night Perform’ comes in at the absolute climax of the song, which has gone from crushingly intimate ballad, to full-blown post-rock anthem.

It’s definitely bold and takes intense turns. But it’s a patient song and for it to work, the meaning needs to be subtle. It’s about trying to validate the simple wars you have within yourself against the backdrop of everyday life.

A LITTLE ROUGH

‘A Little Rough’ is a curve ball for us. Again, it’s laden with bare emotion dealing and atmosphere, but there’s an undeniable groove. It’s infused with too many influences to count: folk, trip-hop, electronica, post-rock, but again never straying away from the simple pop-song underneath. We think of Ben Howard and Portishead, and everything between as a good.

It’s about being absolutely elemental – having nothing but the need to find purpose, and fighting against the temptation to give in.

‘A fire to derive, a solace in your mind, well I won’t waste my time.’

CABIN

‘Cabin’ is the surefire release at the end of the EP. It’s about striving for escapism from a position of isolation and introspection.

It’s the first song we ever wrote after coming together, and it’s almost a tribute to the inception of the band. Just before we started life as ‘Cavalry’ many of us were newly back in Liverpool after living away from the city for some time in New York, Vancouver, Asia. Soon after, we were in a remote writing camp away from everything, and lighting the first fires of what would become our material to date. It’s an important song for that reason: in moments of doubt, it just helps to remember the purpose of being in a band, making music that you care about.